Re: A&E.A

I was lucky to work with Mary on her wetland project. In its earliest
stages the sparks were set off in kid's heads when we found small things
they had been overlooking, but were there all the while - spiders and
frogs, chickadees and herons, geese and even some grass supple enough to
allow us to make music with its soft stems..... Going out often to places
nearby where natural habitat remains fairly intact, exploring them with a
camera, writing playful picturebooks with those images - that sort of thing
all contributed to the interest in restoring a wetland. And, it got
teachers involved because they could integrate writing, science, and art in
many ways.
A simple act perhaps, but I remember kindergarteners looking through
toiletpaper roll binoculars outside at Pickerington. Making the binoculars,
decorating them, going for walks, watching birds, imagining eagles and make
believe birds - that contributed too.
Mainly, I think it is important to go outside often. And, try to
enlist the help from your hyperactive kids who are super naturalists but
not necessarily great academically. They will show you the best of Tuscon.

Ron Hirschi

>At Pickerington Elementary, art teacher Mary Sheridan and friends>rediscovered the unique, natural beauty just beyond their backyard>(http://www.artsednet.getty.edu/education/teacherartexchange/resources/Ecology/Curric/Pickerington>/Index.html). Students here in Tucson, Arizona, are often>introduced to the wonders of other lands such as the Amazon rain forest>and African jungles. How can we use ecological art to teach the>children of Tucson the importance of discovering the unique, natural>beauty of their own desert backyard?>>Thanks for your help.>>Susan Stinson